There’s a reason why Cambridge has grown into the largest technology cluster in Europe and one of the most respected technology and innovation hubs in the world.   

For starters, the UK’s science, tech and innovation capital boasts a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem which is built on an even longer history of invention.

Indeed, what started back in 1688 with Trinity College fellow, Sir Isaac Newton and his reflecting telescope invention has continued steadily through the decades with transformative global innovations such as IVF, Bluetooth, Alexa, wireless internet and webcams (which were invented here in 1991, two years before web browsers even existed!) and on to the next gamechangers being developed right here, right now: quantum computing (Riverlane), holographic display technology for AR gaming (VividQ),  AI built by AI (Agxio), on-device machine learning at the edge (InferSens), simplifying smartphone design (Forefront RF) and semiconductor innovation (PragmatIC),

But that’s Cambridge for you: a small city boasting more published patents per resident than any other city in the UK and receiving, perhaps unsurprisingly, four times the amount of tech investment per head than London. But, with genius innovations two a penny in Cambridge, it can be hard for a startup to make an impact here, never mind get noticed.

That’s why to be a successful disruptor, you need a lot more than just brilliant innovation. A good IP strategy and great comms, to help lift you up above the extraordinary, are also essential.

IP rights aren’t just key economic assets in today’s knowledge economy, they’re a key consideration for investors too. In the first year alone, a startup can spend upwards of £10,000 on the initial patent application – but this should be viewed as an investment rather than an expense.

Fiona Law, a patent attorney at London-based intellectual property law firm, Potter Clarkson says: “If you’re trying to raise a million pounds’ worth of investment, you’re going to look really stupid if you haven’t invested in protecting your invention.

“IP goes on your balance sheet. People shouldn’t think of it as a cost; it’s a valuable asset. A patent is a 20-year monopoly to stop somebody else ripping off your idea.”

Investors like to see IP rights integrated into a business plan from the offset as this will enable you to leverage IP assets for growth and increase the chances of a lucrative future exit (which is, of course, when most of the returns are realized, for both entrepreneur and investor).

The other important consideration for startups is marketing and PR/communications.

“Exposure and PR are absolutely essential for a startup, especially if they are wanting to get in front of investors and buyers,” says Faye Holland, who makes raising the profiles of technology startups in the region her business.

“A lot of eyes are on the Cambridge cluster, and this is a buoyant area for IP and investment – but you’ve got to get noticed too.”

To that end, Faye runs Cambridge-based cofinitive, the only industry-recognised PR agency outside London specialising in tech, which has topped Business Weekly’s ‘Image Makers’ list for the last three consecutive years running and is listed in PRWeek’s Top150. Focussed on delivering impactful communications for science and tech companies poised to make a difference in the world, cofinitive works with clients locally, nationally and globally across a remit of strategy, marketing communications, PR, branding, engaging stakeholders and attracting investment and clients.

Faye is the creator of the annual #21toWatch tech innovation awards, which recognises and rewards the work of early-stage science and tech companies across the UK’s Eastern innovation landscape. She also co-hosts the Cambridge Tech Podcast which is holding a live ‘40 Years of Tech in Cambridge’ episode on May10th during Cambridge Tech Week which Business Weekly is supporting as Media Partner.

Faye says: “The synergies between IP strategy and having a good marketing strategy are really interesting as I discovered last month when I interviewed Robert Tansley from Cambridge Innovation Capital in a fireside chat hosted by Howard Read at Appleyard Lees for CIPA. You certainly need both to protect and promote.

“From our side, being there with the startups, the innovators, the ground-breakers at the birth of something that could just become colossal, world-changing even – and helping them to build their profile on the world stage – is what really excites us.”